Mower Testing

Oct 30, 2009

Maybe next to the Harley and the pickup truck, there can't be any mobile machine more American than a lawn mower, whether it's a lawn tractor or a little push job. I've been testing all styles of mower at my home all summer, trying to figure out which is best for a midsize exurban yard of three-quarters of an acre or so. Some are quicker, others take less maintenance and use less room in the garage. There are environmental and lifestyle issues, too—which I'll write about in the magazine. But here, quickly, are a couple of factors I'm looking at.

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Noise. Yesterday, I finally pulled out a sound level meter and found that my Quick 36 semi-pro walk-behind and Husqvarna riding mower both put out about 100 dBA. Lots of people would use hearing protection, as I do, with any machine that loud.

But even the 6-hp self-propelled Cub Cadet I'm testing produced around 90 dBA. If you were exposed to that level throughout the day at work, you'd be required to have hearing protection. A guy mowing his own lawn may only be out there for an hour or so, but it's still worth wearing ear muffs, in my opinion. (The winner in the noise category was my Lee Valley reel mower, as you'd guess.)

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The Tom Sawyer

The easiest way to cut the lawn is to get someone else to do it, ideally without paying. My wife has stated categorically that she'd only consider cutting the grass with a ride-on mower. That's a critical data point. But my teenage nephew actually was more interested in trying the Quick 36. (He does his own folks' lawn with a ride-on machine.) It really does look like a monster, so I understand. By asking lots of questions, and nodding a lot as he gave his opinions, I got him to do practically the whole lawn! There are many teenagers on my street, and only about 20 weeks of cutting each summer. If each of them wanted to try the Quick 36 once…. —Jerry Beilinson